Monday, March 3, 2014

Yes, happiness is a feeling—an emotion—but happiness is also a habit. Some people naturally find happiness in whatever they are doing. Other people go through all kinds of mental gymnastics to find misery in whatever they are doing. In other words, happiness is something we have either trained ourselves to do or not to do.

If you are one of those people who goes for happiness like an avidmoviefan goes for the best seat in thetheater, you know what I’m talking about. You either learned happiness from your parents, or you learned how to do it yourself, but you know how to find it and you do.

On the other hand, people who perform the negative mental gymnastics routine do their handsprings and back flips and somersaults right over happiness all the while crying, “Foulplay! Happiness doesn’t happen to me!” The sad thing is that they honestly think there is no happiness for them when all the time happiness is there for the taking.

TheGood News!is that habits can be broken. Happiness can be learned. It takes effort, but it is very possible. So choose happiness—make it a habit.

Friday, February 28, 2014

Most people think that the opposite of depression is
happiness, and thus they try to find things to make them happy. But you can
have all kinds of things that make you happy and still feel depressed or blue. The
irony of this fact is that it increases the depression in people who know they
have everything to be happy about yet feel down in the dumps. In addition, you
can have all kinds of unhappy, depressing events going on in your life and
still be happy. It isn’t the events or the pleasures or the things in life that
cause us to be depressed.

So if happiness isn’t the opposite of depression what is? The
answer is vitality. When we feel down in the dumps we have lost our vitality
for living. We lack vigor and enthusiasm and motivation to do anything. We go
through our days feeling numb and haunted by a feeling that there must be more
to life. While this lack of vigor and enthusiasm can happen because of physical
reasons, just as often it happens because of the way we think.

The GOOD NEWS! is that there are ways to revitalize your
life.

The dictionary defines vitalize
as “to give life or energy to something.” And that’s what Hearken Institute is all about—vitalizing
your life, your relationships, and your business helping you change the way you
think.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

If you are one of the Good News! followers or are one of my Facebook friends you have by now heard of Hearken Institute, but you may be wondering what Hearken Institute is. Well, let me tell you . . .

Over the past eight years I’ve been researching and developing the principles of Living in Truth. Five years ago, I began teaching seminars around the country and at Brigham Young University’s Campus Education Week on the things I’ve researched, how to vitalize your life, and have been delighted with the response I’ve gotten. For the past three years I’ve also written the daily blog, Good News! about these same principles and how to apply them into daily living .

Now (Drum roll, please!) I have founded my own business, Hearken Institute, to more effectively teach people how to vitalize their lives, their relationships, and their businesses. Why? Because I have personally experienced the vitality, zest, and joy that Living in Truth has brought to my life. I used to be the world’s biggest pessimist. I lived in a constant state of vexation (PAIN!) and didn’t even realize what joy, peace, and excitement life has to offer.

Most people think the opposite of depression is happiness, but the opposite of depression is vitality. I didn’t know it then, but the old vexed me was living life in a numb state—not depressed in the clinical sense, but certainly not excited or enjoying life. The new me is full of vitality! I love it and want to share how to tap into that vitality with everyone who wants a better life.

So that’s what Hearken Institute is all about. Helping others to discover and Live in Truth—to live a vitalized life.

Check us out at Hearken Institute.com and PLEASE help us out by going toour Facebook pageand like it so you can receive reminders about how to Live in Truth.

But most of all, if you are in the Orem area, come to the festivities tohelp us launch Hearken Institute. You’ll find out more about Hearken Institute and we will be giving away some fantastic door prizes. One lucky person will win the grand prize—a free Hearken Now seminar!

If you want to come to the Hearken Launch follow thislink to register.Hope to see you there!

Monday, February 24, 2014

Hearken Institute is all about helping you Live in Truth. And why should you Live in Truth? There are many reasons, but one is that when you Live in Truth you experience life differently. For example instead of seeing situations around you as problems, you see them as opportunities.

The wordopportunityitself teaches a lot about this concept. Opportunity means, "a favorable juncture of circumstances." That's a good definition, but there is something more to this word. You may have noticed that there is a "port" in the middle of the word. That is significant. Sail toward it!

Opportunitycomes from the Latin wordopportunuswhich consists of the prefix, op- meaning "toward" andportusmeaning (You guessed it!) "port or harbor." If traveling by ship, a port is your entry into a city which means you are approaching your destination which means you are now going to be able to carry on the business you came to do, or to enjoy visits with friends and family, or to start a new life, or to refuel the ship, or to take on needed supplies, or even to invade and conquer. But to do what you had come to do, you first have to take advantage of the port and enter it.

When we think of what we sometimes call problems as "ports of call" or refueling stations encountered along the journey of life that are an opportunity to restock supplies, and unload and/or exchange cargo, we are Living in Truth. These opportunities become exciting adventures that prepare us for the rest of the journey.